ANP boss emphasizes the value of original sources in times of artificial intelligence

Martha Riemsma has been the director of the Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (Dutch Press Agency, ANP) since early October. Before that, she was, among other things, editor-in-chief of TC Tubantia, a regional daily newspaper in the Twente region, and had various other media roles. During IO+'s relaunch event, Riemsma talked about the position and future of journalism in an AI-dominated world.

It's evident to everyone by now, but the rise of AI, with all its opportunities and risks, profoundly impacts journalism. Not only are the opportunities for news media themselves increasing, but it has also become even more accessible for outsiders, with the help of AI, to flood the world with information, whether it is accurate or not. Martha Riemsma makes no bones about it. “AI makes our work easier, but it also puts a lot of pressure on journalism and media as we know them today,” she says.

It doesn't stop at practical implications. Riemsma emphasizes that AI broadly undermines information reliability because models are trained on data that has not always been verified. This creates an information torrent in which truth and fiction are mixed. “AI also impacts the business models of journalistic media. People no longer need to go to a source; AI already provides the answer. That greatly changes the value of original content and the model we know today.”

Facts as the foundation

Especially at a time when disinformation via social media is spreading at lightning speed, Riemsma sees opportunities for journalism. “Reliable brands with a large reach can make their mark by standing for the reliability of the stories and factual information they bring,” she explains. Because no matter how well an AI can work, it always starts with information already created elsewhere. “Something has to be created somewhere by someone originally creating it. And that original has to be paid for. It has to find its value somewhere along the value chain.”

Martha Riemsma interviewed at IO+'s relaunch event © Bram van Dal

AI as an ally

The ANP embraces AI where it can, albeit with a critical eye. “Freek Staps, our editor-in-chief, has a clear story about that: we use AI where it can support our process, for example to check texts or to label photos automatically. But we always apply the human-machine-human principle. In the end, a human evaluates everything that goes out. We have to be 100% reliable, and you can't say that about AI right now.”

One notable example of AI use is the Washington Post's app, which allows users to “talk” to their content through a ChatGPT-like interface. “I strongly believe in that,” says Riemsma. “You offer readers a whole new way to interact with the content you create that you can guarantee the source is reliable. We are experimenting internally ourselves in a European context with such applications.”

Protecting journalistic value

The rise of AI exposes another big issue: copyright. Riemsma points to lawsuits such as that of the New York Times against OpenAI and discussions about the use of content by AI models. “Media publishers missed the boat 30 years ago with the first Internet wave and then with social media. We put everything in the window, hoping people would come in, and we could then make money through ads. That model worked to some extent because there was reciprocity between the search engines and us. Google came to get stuff from us, but they also brought back traffic. And that's worth the money. So, there was a kind of barter, but because of AI, that model is ending. That new AI-based search engine, which also consults current events, says, “We do the googling for you,” in other words, you no longer have to go to the original journalistic source for your information. With that, the reciprocity is gone. That means you have to make agreements about the original data, that original story, that original insight, the fact that you were there with your eyes and saw it and created something out of it. That has intrinsic value and must be settled somewhere in the system.”

Raison d'etre

Such an agreement is crucial for the ANP as well: "We deliver fast, factually verified news reports and images to our customers, that is our raison d'etre", Riemsma adds. “I had an interesting conversation yesterday with my colleague in Germany, the CEO of DPA, and he says that if there were a school for CEOs of news agencies, the first lesson would be ‘make sure you protect your stuff and make sure you have the rights to your content properly in view.’ The copyright issue, I think, should be a huge priority issue for the media right now.”

At a time when trust in journalism is under pressure, the ANP continues to believe in the societal value of its work. With AI as both an ally and a challenge, the news agency is working toward a future in which facts remain central. “The ANP continues to do that from the special position we have, positioned differently from media companies,” says Riemsma. “We don't serve an audience; we serve our customers and provide them with the best possible up-to-date facts. That remains the core as far as we are concerned."

What will that mean for the ANP ten years from now, when the news agency celebrates its 100th anniversary? “Ten years is a long way off, but of course, I can say what I hope. For a healthy democracy, we must have something like a common truth. That has to remain affordable, of course, but either way, we feel it is our mission to continue providing that factual foundation under journalism and media in the Netherlands. We all must continue to cherish that social value as well.”